Air Resources

We, the undersigned members of the

scientific community, hereby warn all
humanity of what lies ahead. A great change
in the stewardship of the Earth and the life
on it is required, if vast human misery is to
be avoided and our global home on this
planet is not to be irretrievably mutilated.
Union of Concerned Scientists, 1992
Signed by over 1600 distinguished scientists, including
102 Nobel laureates, from more than 70 nations.

U. S. Coastline if all glaciers and

icecaps melted

Milton Freedman *
Question: What responsibilities do businesses
have to protect the environment or save
resources beyond the legal liabilities spelled
out in the law?
Answer: None. In fact, it would be unethical
for corporate leaders to consider anything
other than maximizing profits. To spend time
or resources doing anything other than making
profit and increasing the value of a company is
a betrayal of their duty
*1976 Nobel Prize in Economics

Atmosphere
300 miles of gas (Table 15.1)
78% nitrogen (inert)
21% oxygen
0.035% carbon dioxide
Troposphere (lower 5-11 miles)
Where we live
Determines weather and climate

Stratosphere (11-31 miles up)

Contains ozone (traps UV radiation)

Weather and climate

Caused by differential heating and
cooling of the earths surface
Solar energy in sunlight
Enters as short wavelength radiation (UV,
visible)
reflected by clouds and gas
absorbed in atmosphere (heats air)
absorbed by surface of Earth (heats earth)

Re-radiated back to atmosphere as longwave radiation

Long-wave radiation trapped by water, carbon
dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gasses,
which heats the air further

Weather and climate

Differential heating and cooling of the
Earth (oceans, land and air) moves
masses of air
Rainfall patterns, hurricanes, tornadoes,
droughts
Resulting winds push ocean surface,
resulting in ocean currents
Gives rise to local climate conditions
Gives rise to seasonal changes in weather

Air Pollution
Greenhouse gasses
Increase the ability of the atmosphere to trap
heat

Ozone-depleting gasses
Destroy atmospheric ozone

Toxins
Chemicals
Particulates

Global Climatic Change

Also called global warming
Average global temperature is increasing
Who says?
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space
Administration)

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration)

Major contributor: carbon dioxide

Increased 0.5% per year 1957-2005
Release 60 trillion pounds per year (10,000
pounds per person)
60% taken up by plants and ocean, 40%
remains in atmosphere

CO2 and Glacial Cycles

2013 Pearson
Education, Inc.

Figure 8.20

Global mean land-ocean temperature change from 1880 to 2013,

relative to the 19511980 mean. The black line is the annual mean
and the red line is the 5-year running mean. The green bars show
uncertainty estimates. Source: NASA GISS.

Calculations of global warming prepared in or before 2001 from a range of climate

models under the SRES A2 emissions scenario, which assumes no action is taken to
reduce emissions and regionally divided economic development.

Global Climatic Change

Greenhouse gasses (% of impact)
64% Carbon dioxide
19% Methane
11% Chlorofluorcarbons
6% Nitrous oxide

Major producers
28% United States (5% of population)
23% China (20% of population)

Figure 8.21 Other Greenhouse Gases

Figure 8.22 Sources of Greenhouse

Gases

2013 Pearson
Education, Inc.

Impacts of Global
Warming

Extremes become more extreme

Heat
20 hottest years on record since 1980

Cold
Record/unseasonable cold

Rainfall (floods)
Drought
Storms (tornadoes, hurricanes, monsoons,
etc.)
Impact more pronounced further from the
equator and further from oceans
Poles most affected
Interior regions of continents more affected

Temperature Anomalies 2000-2009

2013 Pearson
Education, Inc.

Impacts of Global
Warming
Glaciers and sea ice melting
Arctic sea ice thinner, less coverage
Antarctic ice shelves disappearing, glaciers
retreating
Could raise sea levels hundreds of feet

Greenland ice cap melting

Could raise sea level 23 feet

Mountain glaciers melting worldwide

Deep sea warming

Long term storage of energy

Figure 8.26 Sea Level Rise

2013 Pearson
Education, Inc.

Impacts of Global
Warming
Increase in sea level
Rise of 6-8 inches in last 100 years
Expect 3 feet increase by 2050
If all ice melts, sea levels would rise by
as much as 600 feet
Displace 1/3 of worlds population
Flood cities, disrupt transportation
Flood most productive agricultural regions

U. S. Coastline if all glaciers and

icecaps melted

Impacts of Global
Warming
Disrupt plant and animal life
Change plant and animal distributions
Change growing seasons (plants)
Change breeding seasons (animals)
Widespread species extinctions
Spread of infectious diseases
(mosquitoes and malaria, etc.)
Significant impact on agriculture

2015

Figure 8.23 Annual CO2

emissions

For more information:

On global climate change:
http://www.ipcc.ch/
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The Climate Solutions Consensus: What

We Know and What To Do About It by
David Blockstein, Leo Wiegman

Climate Change Science and Policy by

Stephen Schneider, Armin Rosencranz, Michael
Mastrandrea

Ozone
Pollutant at ground level
Beneficial in the stratosphere (6-30 miles
up)
Absorbs 99% of UV radiation from sun
(mutagen)
Protects against cellular damage to plants and
animals
Every 1% loss of ozone leads to 1 million more skin
cancer cases per year, increased eye damage, etc.
Plants (especially food crops) are more sensitive to
UV damage than animals

Ozone
Ozone hole in stratosphere
First noted in 1985 over Antarctica in winter
Chlorine-based aerosols (CFCs) react with
and break down ozone
CFC is catalyst, not used up when it reacts

CFCs in wide use since 1930s in industry,

air conditioners, styrofoam, refrigerators,
etc.
Breakdown of ozone occurring faster than
ozone is reforming, hole recently detected
over north pole

Toxic Air Pollution

2 billion tons per year worldwide
4,000,000,000,000 pounds per year
Kills 5-6 million people per year

147 million tons per year US

294,000,000,000 pounds per year
5-10 year decrease in life expectancy in major
cities
Increased morbidity (bronchitis, COPD,
emphysema, etc.)
25% reduction in agricultural production

Eventually winds up in water, soil or

oceans

Los Angeles on a smoggy day

Los Angeles on a clear day

Air Pollution
Human sources
Primary pollutants
Released in their toxic form directly into the
air

Secondary pollutants
Modified to a toxic form after they are
released into the air
Chemical reactions in the presence of heat,
sunlight
photochemical smog

Criteria Pollutants
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2)

Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
Carbon monoxide (CO)
Particulates
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Toxic elements (lead, mercury, etc.)
Ozone

Indoor Air Pollution

Indoor air quality is often worse than
outdoor air quality
Smoke
Pathogens (mold, etc.)
VOCs

Plastics
Foam
Paints
fabric treatments
preservatives

Solutions
Minimize production of toxins
scrub emissions
Remove toxins before they are released into
the air

Reduce consumption
Alternate energy sources
Change composition of consumer goods
Paints, plastics, foams, etc.